Prologue I: An Unknown Encounter (Updated 3/12/2014)
September 2, 1998 (4 months after the defeat of Lord Voldemort)
The ramshackle house sat unlit and dark. A half egg of a moon was nestled behind the clouds. This particular house had seen no visitors since the Dark Lord's war. But tonight, its peace was to be broken. A man wrapped in a cloak, hiding his face from view, strode very purposefully up to the shack. His long stride carried him quickly around to the backside of the house away from prying eyes. The man pulled out a white wand and began drawing a rectangle along the wall, while muttering words under his breath. When he was finished speaking, a wooden door appeared out of the wall. The man quickly opened it and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Turning he repeated his motions and muttered some additional words and the door disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind a solid wall.
The man paused and lowered his hood to his shoulders, setting loose a curly mane of reddish-brown hair that flowed down onto and over his shoulders. A matching thick beard covered his square-jawed face. His yellowed blue eyes glanced around the room as if looking for anything out of place. Apparently seeing nothing wrong, he removed the cloak and tossed it onto a nearby chair. A whimper like sound came from the floor above. Other than some light coming from the down the stairs the room was completely dark. Striding purposefully again, he set up the creaky stairs.
Reaching the top and walking through the doorway he came upon a huge blond pale skinned man in a chair. The man was obviously not a guest as he was tied securely to his chair and looked considerably uncomfortable. The man's eyes revealed his terror as he looked at this new arrival to the dingy room. His face bore multiple deep lacerations, one of which was still bleeding. Two other men stood in the room, along with a squat figure that could have passed for a child if it were not so obviously inhuman. The goblin glanced to the man entering the room and showed a toothy grin on his face. At this, the entering man broke the silence.
"Fanghurst, you haven't been using goblin interrogation methods again, I hope?" The goblin merely gave a larger smile at this.
"He's yet to pull out any of the particularly fun tricks. You have managed to procure some Veritaserum, I hope Rod?" inquired one of the two other men in the small room with similarly hued hair & thin beard though with streaks of grey. Rod halted in front of their prisoner and nodded, pulling out a small vial of the truth serum and handed it to the man who spoke. The older man proceeded to force the serum down their captive's throat. After the obligatory wait, the captive's eyes glazed over, signaling that the serum had taken effect.
"Now, Thorfinn Rowle isn't it?" The man called Rod asked the man in chair who merely nodded, seemingly unable to use his voice. "I believe I asked you a question, and I expect a worded answer," Rod growled.
"Hold on, we silenced him a while back so he would shut up and quick begging us for his life," interjected the other man in the room. He stood a bit shorter than the others, but bore much darker skin. He waved the gnarled walking staff in his hand. At this, the large pale man's fearful breathing became very audible.
"Now, the answer to my question, or I'll give you another set of marks on your right to even you out," barked the reddish-brown haired Rod, returning his attention to large man in the chair. "I want an answer!"
"Y-y-yes," answered the tied man, trying to stop his mouth from admitting that he was Thorfinn Rowle, but failing due to the serum's effects.
"Well now that we've established that you are indeed another one of Voldemort's bastard followers, perhaps could tell of the whereabouts of your fellow bastard, Fenrir Greyback," a venomous tone came to his voice at the mentioning of the name.
"I don't know where he is," the now identified Rowle spat defiantly back at Rod. Rod let out a beastlike roar of fury and slashed his hand down the unscathed side of Rowle's face. Rowle let out a howl of pain as he now had several deep furrows to match his other cheek, as Rod had promised earlier. The other two men quickly grabbed Rod and restrained from going at Rowle again. Fanghurst merely looked on with a sinister looking smile on his face.
"Rod, control yourself! He can't answer questions if he's dead and he can't lie under the serum," shouted the bearded man.
Still being restrained, Rod shouted, "You worthless piece of Death Eater trash, do you at least know who he might be with?"
"He's been with Antonin Dolohov," replied Rowle. His voice was filled with a mixture of pain and a bit of hope that this wouldn't anger Rod further.
"Where?"
"They were in the Ukraine, last I knew."
"Anything else?"
"N-no, I don't know anymore about them."
"Bart, knock this piece of shit out so we can talk freely." The older man responded by pulling a wand and casting a quick stunner on the Death Eater. When finished, he replaced his wand and looked to Rod expectantly. "Both of the filthy fuckers are together again! Seems now that their precious Voldemort is dead again, they've returned to working together again. This should make finding them all the easier with the bloody trail they're bound to leave behind. But what the hell are we supposed to do with this worthless mess?" Rod gestured towards the unconscious death eater. "I'm all for just killing him, he is a marked Death Eater after all. But I know you might think differently?"
"The Ministry's still paying 2,000 galleons a head for any marked Death Eater turned in alive. They're thankful for dead ones, but there isn't any money in it. The money might be enough to keep Shadows off our back. He'll already be bloody pissed at us as it is for taking a detour in our mission here in the first place."
"Yes, let's hand him over to the ministry," the dark man spoke up with a sarcastic tone of voice. "They've done such a fine job collaring Death Eaters. Hell, those kids did a better job of cleaning up than the Ministry did. Remember what happened with Rookwood? Without us or those kids the Ministry never would have gotten him in the first place and we then had to get the bastard back twice. Admittedly, he'll find it a bit difficult to try and run again." He bore a slight smirk at his statement to which the other men let out muted laughs, while Fanghurst grinned.
"I would happily agree with you, Orenda, but Bart's right. And we don't have anything else we can do with him other than just kill him. We'll just hand Rowle's ass over to the Ministry and get back on what we're actually supposed to be doing here. Then we'll get back with Shadows and go check out the Ukraine when we can and see what we can find. The sooner we can get there, the better."
The others muttered their assent and began clearing out of the room. The goblin began placing various wicked looking goblin torture tools (none had been used, but were simply pulled out to scare the captive, at least this time) into a sack and Orenda began levitating Rowle's bulky frame down the stairs. Bart pulled Rod aside as the others walked out of the room. "I need to go inform Minerva that it was just us here, so if any report gets out, she won't worry about the students." Pausing briefly, he added "With this information, we're closer to finding him since we lost him after our little encounter during the holidays last year. We might finally be able to catch up to him and end this."
At his words, Rod's face took on a look of cold determination. With no emotion in his voice, he replied, "There's no way he's getting away. Nothing is going to keep me from him." At this he straightened and briskly walked down the stairs disappearing from Bart's sight.
"Rod!" Rod reappeared in the doorway. "You should come with me; she's been worried since he died."
"I don't want anyone's pity. I'll be fucking fine." Softening his tone, he added, "But do tell her hello from me." He turned and disappeared back down the stairs.
"Revenge is a poor motive for life. I only hope he can see that before it's too late." He knew that Rod was out earshot, but simply wanted to voice his concern. Bart sighed and waving his wand and with a quick incantation "Nox," extinguished the floating lights and followed Rod's path down the stairs, but took the passageway to Hogwarts instead. As its other visitors popped out of existence, the Shrieking Shack stood alone once again, its recent events adding to its legend of the most haunted building in Britain.
Prologue II: Life After Hogwarts
June 18, 2001 - 3 years later
Harry Potter stretched as he awoke in his bed at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. His head was aching. He groaned as he thought about what today was. It was going to a long day. He'd never really liked celebrations or ceremonies and today was the graduation day from the Auror Academy. Several other DA members, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas & Michael Corner specifically, would be graduating as well. During training they had been split into groups of 5 to simulate what it would be like in the field with their teams. The four DA members and Draco Malfoy had been placed together and had performed admirably, finishing at the top of their class. They had gained a nickname "The Ridgebacks" after soundly defeating the other teams in an early group training mission. At first, working with Draco was difficult due to their past bitterness, but 2 weeks in it was mutually decided to start fresh and things had looked up since. Draco Malfoy was one of the last people that Harry or Ron had ever thought they would end up being friends with and had even less expected him to become an Auror. Though calling him a friend might not be quite the right word.
Tonight, all their hard work would be rewarded by being issued their Auror licenses. Due to the famous nature of some of the graduates, this year's ceremony would be invitation only. All of the Auror trainee's families were automatically welcomed, and each graduate was allowed to invite four guests. Harry had chosen to invite Hermione's parents, Will & Anna Granger (Hermione had been invited by Ron). Will had become somewhat of mentor to Harry, when Will found that the Auror training was very similar to his own military experience. He had been in the British Army for a time and was more than willing to lend an understanding ear to Harry's frustrations with the training. Upon hearing of the physical requirements, Will had invited Harry to join him in his morning 5 mile run. The time together had brought the two men into a closer relationship and provided Harry a much needed father figure. His 3rd and 4th invites would surprise most, Dudley Dursley and his wife Merry. Since coming back out of hiding after the war, Dudley had been overtly active in building a true relation with Harry. Dudley had finally grown up and wasn't willing to be a git like his father, Vernon. He had also shown quite a talent at boxing, as he was currently the Heavyweight champion of Europe. Dudley had been ecstatic when Harry had asked to include him & his wife among his guests.
How things have changed and yet are still the same. Harry could remember a day when he didn't know if he would even have a future, let alone the people that would be involved in it. His friends, old & new had been there for him when he truly needed them, even when he tried to push them away. He had come to realize that without them, especially Ron and Hermione, he never would have survived the war.
Pushing his thoughts aside, Harry rose from his bed and plodded into the bathroom adjoining his room and began his morning routine. Emerging from the room freshly showered and shaven, he pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans. The dress clothes could wait until that afternoon. Pausing for a moment, he grabbed his wand & its wrist holster, strapping it on. He rarely went anywhere without his wand even after defeating Voldemort. He headed down the stairs to the kitchen to find Kreacher waiting for him with a massive breakfast on the table. Harry noticed that the table was set for four instead of the usual two, himself and Kreacher. He had insisted that the aged house-elf join him for meals. The house-elf had at first resisted but then relented at his master's insistence. Harry gave Kreacher a questioning look, nodding his heads at the extra settings and food.
"I must remind you that your friends, Ron and Hermione are coming for breakfast, since it seems that you have forgotten, Harry," spoke Kreacher in his deep voice. Another thing that Harry had insisted on was that instead of master or sir, he simply should be called Harry. He had also insisted that the house-elf educate himself and Kreacher's speaking had greatly improved as result. Harry had learned that Kreacher actually had a vast store of knowledge; he just hadn't had any grammar schooling to communicate that knowledge with.
"I had forgotten completely. Thanks, Kreacher for remembering and taking care of the food." At Harry's words, Kreacher's wrinkled face broke into a smile. Harry was extremely thankful for the house-elf remembering his inebriated invitation to Ron and Hermione the night before. There had been an impromptu celebration that night to celebrate the Ridgeback's successfully coming in at the top of their class. Friends were invited and the alcohol started to flow. Harry typically wasn't much of a drinker but that night, he had been convinced to cut loose by the most unlikely of sources, Hermione.
The Night Before
"Harry, you've got to loosen up sum times and just have fun," Hermione's words were already becoming slightly slurred. The party had been going for a while and Ginny had convinced Hermione to do several shots with her. She grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey off of the table and poured a glass, and then forced it into my hands. "Drink."
I glanced at my somewhat inebriated best friend. She had let down bushy hair out of the ponytail she usually kept it in and the curls were cascading all over place. I've always loved that her hair is just as uncontrollable as mine. Her brown eyes met mine and she smiled mischievously.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Ms. Perfect Hermione?" I joked at her. She just smiled more and nodded at the glass in my hands. I relented and drank down the burning liquid. Hermione refilled it and forced me to repeat the action 2 more times before she would let me alone about it. Feeling a bit buzzed, I willing consented to the drinking of more. Hermione and I chatted about what had gone on in our lives for the last 2 years.
She had been away to Manone University, a mastery school in America, where she had, of course, excelled. Hermione had finished what was supposed to be a 3 year program in 2 years with 5 masteries. Even though this was an unheard of feat, in typical Hermione fashion she was surprised at everyone's congratulations to her. She would soon be assuming a post as an Unspeakable researcher for the Department of Mysteries. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that she didn't realize her own brilliance. I laughed at one of her Uni stories and at that point Ron wandered over and clapped a hand to my back, causing me to about spill my drink.
"Can you believe it, Harry, we're about to officially become Aurors!" Ron was his usually boisterous self. I smiled at my best friend and nodded. "Here's to the best damn recruits there's ever been, The Ridgebacks!" Ron raised his glass as he shouted it out to the room.
"The Ridgebacks!" The reply came from throughout the room. Everyone, including me, then proceeded to drain their glasses and then go about getting them refilled. As I sat down my glass, Ron took a seat beside Hermione. He whispered something into Hermione's ear and looking at me she giggled. I raised an eyebrow, which just caused her to giggle a little more. Hermione tended to get giggly with a little bit of alcohol in her. The three of us fell into our old conversation mode of talking about anything and everything. It felt good to be enjoying the easy camaraderie of my two best friends.
Amazingly out of the three of us, by midnight Ron was the only one sober enough to walk steadily. Everyone had gone on home and Hermione and I had collapsed in a pile on the couch. She was looking at me with glazed over eyes. When I met her gaze she began to giggle. I gave a start as the clock gonged out its chime to signal midnight, and Ron offered a hand to Hermione, lifting her up off the couch. She stood unsteadily and promptly fell down on top of me when Ron let go of her.
"I love you," she said staring into my eyes and giving me one of her patented bone-crushing Hermione hugs. I returned the hug and gently pushed her back up. Ron put her arm over his shoulders to steady her.
"All right come on you, let's get you home," Ron said smiling at Hermione's state. She giggled at this.
"How about we do breakfast tomorrow? Right here at Grimmauld." I inquired. It had been a while since the three of us had gotten together for anything.
"Sure, Harry. Sounds like a good idea."
"I wood lub too." Hermione slurred back to me.
"We'll see you then," Ron said as he half walked, half carried Hermione out the door.
A sudden noise from the parlor brought Harry out of his reverie. Harry took his place at the table and waited for his two best friends. He smiled as he heard Hermione admonish Ron for his lack of grace, as he had apparently knocked her down coming through the floo.
"I didn't bloody well know you'd be trying to floo through at the same time I was," Ron grumbled back at her admonishment. Harry smiled as his two best friends came into the room, still grumbling at one another. Upon seeing Harry, Hermione ran up to him and gave him one of her patented bone-crushing hugs.
"So what's Kreacher cooked up this time?" Ron asked as he walked settled into his seat. His eyes lit up when he saw the veritable feast that Kreacher had whipped up for them. Ron promptly sat down and began to fill his plate. Hermione and Harry joined him. "This is absolutely amazing, Kreacher." Ron complimented after taking a bite of his omelet. At this, the elf took his seat with a happy grin on his wrinkled face. Ron continued devouring his food and was refilling his plate by the time Harry or Hermione had gotten half way. The three friends made their usual chatter as they ate. When they had finished Harry and Ron grabbed cups of coffee and retired to the sitting room. Hermione stayed in the kitchen to help clean up and chat with Kreacher. After they sat Harry cleared his throat and decided on using the patented-Gryffindordirect approach to what he had noticed the prior night.
"So what's with you and Luna?" He blurted out. Ron looked dumbfoundedly at Harry. His look then shifted to a sly grin. "I saw you speaking primarily to Luna last night. Finding a girl, Weasley?" Ron and Hermione had started dating in the aftermath of the war but had found that their personalities clashed too much and mutually broke things off during Hermione's first year of mastery school. They had split on good terms and though things were a bit awkward for a bit, they soon settled back into their best friend roles. Ron had had a few girlfriends since but none that lasted more than a few weeks.
"Well, what would you say if I told you we had a date last Friday night? And another, this Friday," Ron replied to Harry's questioning.
"She's a good fit for you, Weasley." Lifting his coffee, he saluted his best friend. "I hope the best for the both of you. Who would have thought? Our ickle Ronniekins and Loony Lovegood together." Ron gave Harry his own two-fingered salute in return, but laughed right along with Harry. At this moment, Hermione came into the room carrying her mug of tea. Hermione had never been much for coffee, though she did drink it during her time at uni but that was mostly due to her schedule and that coffee was far more readily available in America. Having caught the end of Harry's ribbing of Ron, she was laughing as well. She sat down between the boys and joined in the good natured ribbing of Ron about Luna.
Ron had matured a lot throughout the aftermath of the war, especially since Ron had moved out the Burrow and taken up residence in a London flat. He had also finally come to an understanding about why Harry didn't want his enormous fame since becoming famous himself after the war. He himself had gone through the unwanted attention Particularly with people trying to go through him to get to Harry. Over time, he'd learned that being famous wasn't all that he'd originally thought it to be.
With a glance at the clock, Hermione gave a start. "Look at the time. I need to go get my parents. Being muggles they can't get into the ministry by themselves. I'll see you two at the graduation ceremony at noon. Bye!" She swooped in to give Ron and Harry both a quick hug then headed off to the fireplace to floo out.
"I've got to get going too. I'm supposed to meet Luna at eleven and get ready for the ceremony myself. Bloody dress robes." He clapped Harry on the back and followed Hermione's earlier path. Harry leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. He had the two best friends in the world. They'd gone through so much those last few years of the war, events that had strained and almost destroyed their friendship, though after making it through the war it was stronger than ever.
Harry proceeded back upstairs to get into his dress robes. After putting on his formal robes, he decided on showing early to the ceremony. He headed down to the floo and holding a handful of powder called out, "Auror Headquarters."
He disappeared in a burst of green flame and reappeared, stumbling into Auror HQ out of the floo fireplace. Kingsley Shacklebolt, current Minister for Magic, was standing on the other side of the small entry room talking earnestly to a man Harry didn't know. The man was rather tall, standing considerably taller than the Minister, with long shaggy russet-colored hair with some slight streaks of grey. He probably stood at tad taller than 6 and half feet tall by Harry's estimate. He was rather lanky, but he held himself with a confident air. Something seemed familiar about the man, but he couldn't quite place it. Seeing Harry, Kingsley broke away from the man and came over to greet Harry.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you, Harry," shaking Harry's hand, then forgoing it and pulling Harry into a manly hug. "I've watched as you've grown and now you've graduated at the top of your Auror class. Your parents would be proud," stating his last sentence as a quiet whisper.
"Thank you, Minister," Harry replied respectfully. Seeing Harry's glance at the tall man in the room, Kingsley ushered him over.
"You might remember Bart Rise. He's here from the American Magical Republic. He was in and out of headquarters quite often during your time in Auror training. We used his lesson plans for all of the physical aspects of your training, such as the Hand-to-hand combat, general fitness and the like. You'll learn more about why he's here in a few minutes."
"It's good to meetcha, Harry." The man, Bart, and Harry exchanged handshakes. Harry noticed that unlike most wizards, Bart didn't say a word about Harry's exploits or even try to get a look at his scar.
"Same here, Bart. And I do remember seeing you a couple of times outside the training room. I just figured you were another bureaucrat checking in on us." Harry still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd met Bart before, but couldn't remember when or where just that it definitely wasn't at the ministry. "By the way, I must say that your lessons were excellent," At Harry's compliment, Bart smiled slightly.
"Good thing ya enjoyed them. As ya'll see soon, that even though your training officially is over, Aurors never truly stop training," Bart responded. Harry noticed his accent seemed familiar somehow but he couldn't place it. It didn't sound like any of the American dialects he had heard.
"Well, it was good to meet you, but I need to go to the entrance so I can get my cousin in," Harry said. Quickly he added "He's a muggle so he can't get in by himself." Bart added a "Likewise" and Harry nodded to the two men and headed off towards the entrance. As he was walking, he was given congratulations by several senior Auror staff members who were milling about, some preparing for and others waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin. Pausing only long enough to say thank-you, Harry continued on his way. Reaching the doors he pushed them open and stepped outside into the warm June air. Glancing around, he saw that Dudley had yet to arrive. Harry settled himself onto a bench and let his thoughts drift.
His thoughts touched on the events since that fateful day when he had found that he was wizard and that he was famous for something he couldn't even remember. He remembered how people that he'd never met would act as though he had done something of significance, though in reality it was mother's sacrifice that stopped Voldemort that day. His thoughts turned to Hogwarts and the memories that were held within those walls. From fighting off a Voldemort-possessed Quirrell in first year, slaying a Basilisk and destroying Riddle's memory second year, to rescuing Sirius and learning the truth of Peter's betrayal in the third, to the challenges of the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort's return in fourth year, the department of mysteries battle and losing Sirius in his fifth, and to the turmoil of relationships and Dumbledore's death that was sixth year. There was also the battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's death in what should have been his seventh year.
His actual seventh year had been a considerably different experience, since that for once in his life, there was no looming dark wizard whom only he could defeat. Voldemort was gone forever, never to rise again. Granted, there were still dark wizards out there, or else his becoming an Auror would be pointless, but most were relatively tame when compared to Voldemort. That year he had been able to simply be Harry Potter, without any of the pressures. Sure the Daily Prophet made a media circus but McGonagall, in her new capacity as headmistress, had staunchly made sure that no member of the press got through the gates. McGonagall had also made the decision to allow any student who wished to repeat (or actually attend in the case of the muggleborns) their respective year would be allowed to with their grades replacing the previous years. Mostly those in the OWLs or NEWTs years chose to repeat since those were really the only grades that truly affected one's course in life.
That year, there had been no mystery to solve (other than him, Ron and every other male trying to figure out girls), no horcruxes to find, no looming threats of any kind at all. Harry viewed it as the best year of his life. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, himself and the other students who returned were able to simply be teenagers after going through a war.
Then there was Ginny. Looking back he realized that it had been a mistake even at the beginning. He guessed that amidst all the confusion and excitement surrounding the fall of Voldemort, he wasn't really in tune with what he was feeling. The two had dated and had had a somewhat whirlwind relationship. After spending a week at Dudley's new place after Christmas (Dudley had moved out from under Vernon's roof as soon as humanly possible, the two could no longer tolerate the other's presence) and being separated from Ginny, he realized something. He didn't love Ginny. He realized he would always see her as a sister and that was all. Having no one else to talk to, he turned to Dudley. Once Dudley had gotten over his initial shock at being taken into Harry's confidence, he simply told Harry to tell her the truth. As if it was that easy.
He had mulled it over, and during the first week back from the holidays, he had told Ginny how he really felt. He hadn't had the presence of mind to do it somewhere private and had told her in the Gryffindor common room. That had been a mistake and half. Not only did he get a dose of the Weasley temper from Ginny, her yells brought Ron who quickly became yet another angry Weasley. What resulted was a row that would be a lasting legend amongst the house of Gryffindor. For the rest of the year he hardly spoke two words to Ginny. Ron, while angry for a while, had surprisingly reconciled with Harry saying that it was better than Harry leading his sister on. Harry suspected Hermione's influence must have had something to do with this and he was grateful to her.
"Oi, Harry! How are you, you scrawny little bastard?" the raucous voice startled Harry, as he had become preoccupied with his thoughts. Smiling he stood and responded in like manner.
"I was fine up until your fat arse showed up," he quipped back. His cousin responded with a boisterous laughter, and then bounding up the steps with a grace that defied his bulk, crushed Harry in bear hug. Looking over Dudley's shoulder after he was released, he saw a pretty blonde woman following up the stairs shaking her head at the two's antics.
"I can't go anywhere in public with you two, can I?" the woman admonished. Smiling she pulled Harry into a friendly hug.
"And how are you, my beautiful Merry? Let's leave this no-good sod of husband of yours and run off together," He teased her.
"That'd be my wife you're flirting with Potter, better watch yourself," Dudley gave a grin as he teasingly punched Harry in the arm. Harry smiled in response and gesturing he led the two of them into the building. The outside of the building had been carefully disguised as a dilapidated old manor which had lain empty for several years.
In reality, the building was much smaller on the outside than the interior which had magically been enlarged. A tall fence kept it away from prying eyes and all the windows and doors were boarded over but charmed on the inside to give an outside view of surrounding London. Harry suspected that some considerable magic had been put in play, since this outside entrance was over a mile away from where the HQ was physically located on the second floor of the Ministry. Merry let out a small gasp when she saw that the corridor they entered seemed to stretch on forever.
"Welcome to Auror Headquarters. It's been magically enlarged and disguised on the outside so as not to be suspicious to muggles." Harry added the latter for Merry's benefit. "Where's Jr. at today?"
"Oh we dropped him off at Merry's mum and dad's. They were more than happy to take their grandchild in for a day of spoiling. They also invited mum there as well." At this, Harry noticed a brief grimace pass across Dudley's face.
Seeing this he asked, "So, things still aren't any better with your dad then?"
"Mum's tried to get him to come around but the old git's too stubborn and set in his ways to listen. I doubt we'll ever get along well again." Seeing his cousin's look, he added "But don't go thinking this is your fault, Harry. I did what I had to. And frankly if Vernon can't get his head out of his arse, then he can bugger off for all I care." Vernon had exploded when he found out that Dudley and Harry had become friendly and that Dudley was willing to accept Harry. Petunia had tried and tried to amend things between the two, but it seemed to be a lost cause. Thankfully for Petunia's sake, Merry's mum and dad were known acquaintances of Petunia's, who had, with their children's relationship, become good friends with her. Otherwise, she would probably never see her grandchild.
The three continued to chat and catch up with each other's lives as they walked along. Reaching the chambers, Harry glanced in to see if Hermione and her parents had arrived. Spotting them, he motioned for Dudley and his wife to follow and set off in their direction. Hermione brightened when she spotted him and pulling her parents along came over to meet him.
Receiving his second Hermione hug of the day, he joked "If you keep doing that, I think I'm going to have visit St. Mungo's for bruised ribs." He flashed her one of his own trademark lop-sided grins. Turning to greet Will and Anna, he received a hearty handshake hug and the hug of another Granger woman, albeit of a more gentle nature than Hermione's. "This is my cousin, Dudley Dursley & his wife, Merry. Dudley & Merry, this is Will and Anna Granger, Hermione's parents." Greetings and small talk were made until Hermione pulled Harry aside for a moment.
"Can I talk to you alone for a second?" Hermione asked, even though she was physically dragging him anyways.
"Anytime, Hermione. You know that."
"Well, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you and proud that you've chosen to make something of your life. I mean with your inheritance from your parents & then from Sirius, you really never would have needed to work for the rest of your life. And well, I just wanted to say that…" she paused for a moment, but was then interrupted by the arrival of several other graduates. Michael Corner & Dean Thomas shouted hellos to Harry and then crossed the room to greet him. Hermione had a brief look of annoyance flash across her eyes but simply whispered "Later" to Harry, and turned to greet the two men.
Dean had continued to grow and now stood about a head and half taller than Harry. The dark skinned man clapped Harry heartily on the back then turned to say hello to Hermione. Michael, who had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, stood slightly shorter than Harry with a similar slim build. His long dark hair contrasted with his pale skin. Typically, he was quite reserved, but today his face bore a smile. Seeing Hermione engaging Dean in conversation, Harry did similarly with Michael.
"How's it feel to be about an hour away from officially joining the Auror Corps?" questioned Harry. He already knew the answer, as Michael's smile said it all.
"Bloody amazing and relieving all at the same time. I might finally be able to put a coherent thought together without analyzing it first for combat strategies." The two shared a laugh at this. Dean and Hermione turned to join the conversation. Harry noticed that Hermione bore a satisfied smile on her face. I wonder what that's about? He decided he would ask later, if he saw need to.
Greeting Michael, Hermione inquired "How's Cho?"
"Well, she's doing well and she should be arriving here soon." Michael and Cho's relationship was rather off-and-on. It seemed that many things set the girl off on a trail of memories that she didn't want to be reminded that she had.
"Well that's good, who else did you invite?"
"I also invited Cho's grandparents & Terry Boot. My folks will be here as well."
Dean spoke up, "I only invited Seamus Finnigan, Lee Jordan and Neville Longbottom as my extras. Although, Lee said he might be bringing Katie Bell along. It seems that they've officially began dating now."
The group continued to discuss their friends and invitations when a mass of red hair entered the room. About a dozen Weasleys had arrived to celebrate Ron's achievement. The patriarchs of the Weasley clan, Arthur and Molly led the way. Ron was walking alongside his father chatting. George & his wife Angelina (formerly Johnson) followed. George was carrying their young son, Fred II on his shoulders. Bill & Fleur came next with their daughter Victoire between them. Charlie and Tia, his wife of three months followed, with Percy & his wife Penelope (formerly Clearwater) close behind. Ending the redheaded procession was Ginny & her current beau, who would have angered many in this room merely with his presence during their Hogwarts years. It was none other than Draco Malfoy.
During the aftermath of what was now labeled the Battle of Hogwarts, he and his father had a row that was on par with even Weasley standards. Draco, though somewhat grudgingly, had openly acknowledged his wizard life debt to Harry and had offered and given his help in gathering the dead, and the general repair and cleaning of the castle. Lucius saw this as beneath a Malfoy, and telling his son as much, the row had erupted. Suffice to say, Draco had lost any and all respect for his father due to his recent behavior. Since then, Draco hadn't spoken a single word to his father, who now resided in Azkaban. Draco had been allowed to return to Hogwarts albeit on probationary status. Any incidents and he would be gone. Harry frankly had not recognized the Malfoy who had attended that year. He had kept completely to himself and never said a word to Harry or any of his other former targets for ridicule. He had apparently applied himself well since he did earn the necessary NEWTs for Auror training.
Being forced together at training, which Harry suspected might have been intentional on the part of Kingsley, they had managed to overcome many of their differences and, though they would never see eye-to-eye on everything, they could at least tolerate and be friendly to one another. During a slightly drunken night, Draco had revealed a lot of the reasons behind his actions during their sixth year. The biggest was that if he didn't do what Voldemort wanted, Voldemort would have his family killed. This revelation had helped to shift the team's opinion of Malfoy. Major proof of this shifting opinion was seen when Ron had not tried to harm Draco when he began dating Ginny, other than the standard big brother threat of what would happen if Draco hurt her.
The Weasley clan bustled over to Harry and company (with Molly and Arthur diverting to the Grangers). The area surrounding Harry was soon abuzz with congratulations and the start of conversations. In the midst of chatting with Bill about the current unrest among the goblins, Kingsley took the podium and pointing his wand to his throat, his amplified bass voice booming out across the crowd.
"If the graduates would come to the seats of honor in the front, we will soon get started." The Auror class began making their ways to the front while all the guests took their seats. A table stood in front of the podium with seating for twenty-five. This was actually a rather large Auror class compared to what had been normal since the First Wizarding War. Harry took his seat between Ron and Draco. The two other Ridgebacks, Dean and Michael sat across from Harry. Seeing Hermione give him & Ron a wave and a smile he responded in kind. Once all the graduates were seated and in place the Minister began.
"We are gathered here to acknowledge the accomplishments and achievements of a new generation of Aurors. Many among them already have experience in fighting dark wizards and have chosen to continue in this service as a career. I salute each and every one of you and can say that I am proud to have been a part of your training. Now may I introduce the current Head Auror, Raynard Williamson." Polite applause filled the room as the tall pony-tailed Head Auror took the podium.
"Thank-you, I will try to keep this brief" he began. "It is with great pleasure that I stand before you. Yet another group of recruits has endured the difficult and trying training designed to push them to their limits. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge those who had a hand in training these fine witches and wizards. Would Auror trainers Mick Bones, Argyle McKinnon, Thelma Owain and Patricia O'Reilly please stand?" Williamson paused and waited as the crowd applauded, the trainees being the most enthusiastic. Once the applause died down he continued.
"I would also like to acknowledge another individual here tonight and allow him to introduce himself. He was responsible for a good deal of the curriculum used for the physical aspects of training. I myself must say they are a vast improvement over the previous curriculum. The lessons were part of an Auror information exchange program we have started this year with the American Magical Republic." Several people murmured at this, since the Republic and the Ministry hadn't been eye-to-eye for a while. "It is my pleasure to introduce to you the now official American Magical Republic Auror Liaison, Bart Rise." The tall, russet haired man Harry had met earlier took the podium amongst the polite applause.
"Thank you for your kind words, Head Auror. Over the last two years, several of your British Aurors and several other American Aurors have been meeting to help improve relations and cooperation between our two divisions. As part of the effort, liaisons have been posted at both Headquarters. As I was stationed here in Britain during the first war with Voldemort, I will be here in London on behalf of the Republic, and Auror Murdock Savage has been posted as the Ministry's liaison to America. The goal is for the liaisons, who are both familiar with their home countries regulations, to be able to help cut through the red tape that often surrounds an international effort." Harry heard a mutter from Dean, along the lines of "about bloody time" at this.
"I will also be taking a newly created post here as the physical combat instructor here at the Auror Headquarters. All Auror physical training will subsequently be taken over by me and my assistant, Ambros Aksel, who is unable to be with us today, but will be arriving tonight. Thank you again for your time and I turn the stage back over to the Minister." More applause followed and Bart walked off the stage and reclaimed his seat. As Kingsley rose, he motioned to a band set up alongside to begin playing. They began with a quiet version the Ministry's anthem. The four Auror trainers also took the stage, standing alongside Kingsley. This was the cue for the graduates to rise and position themselves.
"As I was Head Auror Trainer, a position I held before becoming Minister and as a temporary for the last six months due to Auror Gawain Robards' illness, it is my honor to award the certificates to the graduates. I shall be giving the certificates by training group. Each of the training group teams have been given an identifier based on the groups attributes. Will the Green's please come forward." The Greens were a group of half-blood siblings, a set of older boy triplets and twin girls, which had ended up in the same graduating class due to Voldemort's takeover of Hogwarts. Mick Bones stepped forward to tell the audience a little about the Green's achievements. Harry heard him say something about investigation abilities. Harry's mind wandered as he stood with his group, who would be introduced last as they were the top of their class.
He looked at the boys…no men that stood around him. There was Ron, standing tall but fidgety. Dean's excitement was palpable, as the tall boy bounced back and forth on his heels. Michael was still smiling as he had earlier. Draco looked like he would much rather be elsewhere. Harry could identify in a way, although somewhat differently. The Malfoy name had become quite slanderous since Lucius's permanent residence had been changed to Azkaban. Since, then Draco had avoided any and all publicity that he could. Harry was of like thinking, of that he couldn't wait for this to get over. As he shuffled forward, he realized his group was the next to be introduced. Kingsley once again began speaking.
"Now I would like to take the opportunity to tell you a little about the next group. I, myself, have been this group's advisor in the absence of Auror Robard. These five young men have proven themselves to be among the best ever through the academy. The former numerical record was held by a group back in 1979 that went by the name of The Marauders. The members of that group were Fabian Prewett, Gideon Prewett, Raynard Williamson, James Potter, and myself." Harry did a double take at this information. His father's group had held the record? He would need to talk to the minister about this. "Their numerical score was a 98.5 on a 100 point scale. This group, who go by The Ridgebacks, scored an even 99, setting a new record." Several cheers went up amongst those who understood the significance of this information.
"The group's individual performances were also highly admirable. The Ridgebacks consists mostly of former Dumbledore's Army participants. All five of them had a part in the ending of the war with Voldemort." Harry noticed that several people still gasped at the mention of Voldemort's name. Kingsley continued without pause, "It gives me pleasure to introduce to you, at the top of their class, The Ridgebacks. First, Ron Weasley." A raucous roar of Weasley origin rang out as Ron walked forward to receive his certificate.
"Michael Corner." Less applause was given than Ron's, but most everyone at least politely clapped. The Weasleys gave a good effort all the same, but they would for anyone deserving of it.
"Draco Malfoy." A large part of the audience sat still at the mention of the name, but now that the Weasleys had accepted him they gave another roar of approval. Harry noticed Molly staring down those who didn't applaud. He also noted that Narcissa was not present in the audience.
"Dean Thomas." Once again, less applause, especially since Dean no longer had any magical family to speak of. Dean's step-father, Seamus and Dean's half-brother let out a boisterous yell of approval for Dean.
"Harry Potter." The entirety of the room burst into applause. Harry was slightly chuffed at the fact that some of those cheering loudly didn't even know him. He didn't mind the Weasleys, Grangers, or the other families he knew that were cheering, it was more the Ministry officials who had hardly acknowledged the others' achievements. Glancing to his side, he noticed that Bart simply applauded as anyone would for a stranger. Harry made a note of this, thinking that Bart might be worth getting to know in the next few years, as he seemed to unaffected by who Harry was.
Harry walked to Kingsley and shaking his hand, received his Auror certificate and joined the rest of the class on the platform. Two cameramen made move to get pictures of the graduating class. Thankfully they were Ministry employed record-keepers, not the press who had long been banned from Auror proceedings such as this.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the Auror Academy Class of 2001!" Kingsley stepped back from the podium, and bearing a proud smile, applauded the graduates. Rising from their seats, the other attendees did likewise. After the applause died down, Kingsley dismissed the now-Rookie Aurors to their families and guests.
"Let the celebration begin!" At the Minister's pronouncement, various arrays of food and tables appeared, the previous chairs being cleared away. The band struck up a dinner-atmosphere number. Harry heard a whoop from Ron, when he spotted the food. Harry settled down at a table next to Hermione. Others at the table included Will and Anna Granger, Dudley and Merry Dursley, along with Bill and Fleur. Fleur, Anna, and Merry had struck up an engaged conversation, while their husbands ate and shared knowing looks. Dudley had almost finished a plate in the short time it took Harry to go from the stage to his seat.
"Not planning on losing any weight any time soon, are we Dudders?" he joked.
"When have you ever known my fat arse to deny free food? Hell, besides I need to stay big anyways so I can continue beating the shite out of you."
"That's if you can catch me, you mean." The two older men at the table had been observing the conversation and burst out laughing. Harry and Dudley joined in kind.
"Men. You'd think they hated each other by the way they talked," Merry admonished. The other women shared a laugh and conversation began flowing. In the midst of a table-wide discussion about current events, they were interrupted by a loud banging noise. It was, of course, courtesy of one George Weasley. Standing atop a table, he had just let off a small sample of Weasleys' Wizard Wheeze's Wildfire Whizbang fireworks. Pointing his wand to his throat and utilizing a Sonorous charm he addressed the crowd.
"I propose a toast to all the fine Aurors here, but especially to my friends, The Ridgebacks. Ron, Harry, Dean, Michael, Hell, even you, Draco, may you all grow old and fat! To the Ridgebacks!" He lifted his glass and drained it accordingly. All around the room, others followed suit some accompanied by chuckles at George's antics. Harry joined them downing the champagne. Harry noticed at this point that the music had changed. If he wasn't mistaken it was muggle music that was playing, something about a voodoo child and saying one more last thing.
"Bloody hell! I didn't realize you magic-types would appreciate Hendrix." Will Granger bore a smile on his face. "I remember going to one of his shows back in my younger years."
"Wish I could have been there. Hell, I even figured he must have been a wizard the way he played a guitar." Dudley responded to Will's comment. At this Hermione spoke up.
"As far as I know-"
"You would," Harry spoke quietly, but loud enough that she could hear. She responded by placing a punch into his arm. He winced in mock pain (though he really did feel it, the girl could throw a punch) in response.
"As I was saying, I'm pretty sure that Hendrix was just a muggle. On the other hand, there are magical singers such Edgar and Johnny Winter, the whole of Jethro Tull are either squibs or wizards and another famous singer/songwriter, Warren Zevon, was a werewolf. I could name several more, but I'm sure I've made my point. Wizards are plenty involved in muggle music. I personally don't care that much for wizard music other than the occasional Weird Sisters song. I'd rather listen to a good soft rock song or a bit of blues."
"I don't remember you ever liking blues before, is that something you picked up at Manone?" Hermione's mum inquired.
"I was introduced to it by one of the physical fitness instructors there. Speaking of, I noticed that Bart looks exceedingly like him."
Harry glanced up to see Bart heading their way. He noticed the ease that the man seemed to move and interact with those around him with, briefly stopping to chat and just as quickly moving on. Reaching their table, Harry could see that the smile on his face was genuine, though Bart's blue eyes betrayed weariness of the formalities. Harry thought he noticed a hint of sadness there. At a closer look he noticed that the whites of Bart's eyes seemed to be more of a yellow in color rather than white.
"I figured I'd go around and make myself known to everyone. You all are gonna haveta to put up with me for awhile anyways. Now who all do we have here, eh?" Harry went around the table making introductions. Harry noticed a thoughtful look pass Bart's face when he introduced Hermione.
"Excuse me, Bart?" Hermione asked.
"Ya, whatcha need, eh?"
"By any chance are you from the U.P.?"
"The UP, What's that, honey?" Anna Granger spoke up, asking the question that everyone else wanted to know.
"She means the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan over in the US. And yes, I am from the area. The area's accent is rather unique, though mine's been tempered by spending a lot of time abroad." When he finished, a look of realization spread across his face. "Ah-ha. I thought your name sounded familiar. You attended the Manone Institute's mastery school these last couple years and I believe graduated this year didn'tcha, Hermione?"
"Yes, I did, but how'd you know that?"
"My nephew, Rod, is currently working with the Auror training institute that's part of the school. He's also one of the physical fitness instructors. He mentioned something of you to me a few times." With a mischevious smile he added, "Something about having to deal with a snooty & uptight British woman."
"Yes, that does sound like what he'd say. He truly can't resist taking a shot at anyone. The couple of physical fitness extracurriculars I took to keep in shape were taught by him. Coincidently, it had just occurred to me that you two bear a striking resemblance."
"We look alike if you consider the fact that he looks like a squashed down version of me, or me a stretched-out version of him. Which of his combat classes did you take?"
"Wait, you took physical combat classes, Hermione?" Harry asked at this new piece of information. No wonder her punch earlier had hurt as much as it had.
"Why, yes I did Harry. I might need such a thing with some of the work I'll be doing as an Unspeakable. And to answer your question, I took his Tai Kwan Do course, and a basic hand-to-hand self-defense course. I also was in a running class that he taught, well more like oversaw."
"I'll have to tell him I met you the next time I talk to him, which will probably be in the next week or so, since that's currently where Ambros is at anyways, though he's going to attempt to make it here tonight. So you're becoming an Unspeakable, eh?" Hermione nodded. "Then I'll be seeing more of you as well. New regulations require that any unspeakable doing field research will need to take part in some of the physical training. Not as much as Aurors, but enough that you all can take care of yourself. Well, I'm gonna continue wanderin' 'round. I'll see ya around, eh?" Bart gave a small wave of goodbye and moved on to the table full of Weasleys and soon was drawn into a jovial conversation with Arthur & his brood. Glancing around Harry spotted several other guests whom he knew. There was Lee Jordan with his now confirmed girlfriend Katie Bell, Cho Chang had shown and was sitting with Michael, Neville Longbottom was present and was currently engaging Seamus and Dean in conversation. Harry sighed inwardly at the knowledge that many of those present had lost much of their time to grow up normally, due to Voldemort. Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to the table and happened to notice Hermione's chocolate eyes looking at him.
"What's that about?" He asked her. "See something you like?" His tease brought a smile to her face.
"When did you get so conceited, Mr. Big-Bad-Auror?" she teased in response. The smile on her face faded into a more serious look. Harry saw that she had what he had taken to calling her business-only look. "Remember, when I started talking to you earlier? Do you think we could escape and finish that conversation?"
"I'd be more than willing. Let's go." Harry excused himself and headed out of the large chamber into the long hallway. Hermione followed him shortly behind. "Let's head outside. I could use the fresh air." The two friends walked in comfortable silence to the outside exit where Harry had met Dudley earlier that day. Stepping outside, he realized that more time had passed than he had thought. The sun was almost fully set; indicating that is was after nine o'clock. Looking at Hermione he asked, "Alright, so what's this about."
"Well, first I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you, Harry. Even though you don't need to, you've chosen to continue to help those who need it. You never could get over your saving-people thing could you?" The two shared a laugh at this. "I also wanted to talk to you about something else. While I was away at the Manone Insitute I realized just how much I missed being able to talk to you. Between my mastery theses and your Auror training we fell out of touch."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Hermione. We still saw each other during Holidays and the like. And we occasionally wrote letters."
"But we didn't talk Harry. Not like we always have. I guess I just missed being able to talk to you in person. And, well…, I wanted to get a promise from you if I could."
"Sure, Hermione. Ask away, you know I'd do anything for my best friend."
"Can you promise that no matter how busy we get that we'll get together on at least a monthly basis to talk?"
"Hermione, I would love too. And I guess you have a plan, like you always do. But, what about Ron?"
"I've already asked him and he agreed to do the same. It'll be just the three of us. The Golden Trio, as the Prophet's labeled us." Harry gave a brief grimace at the mention of the Daily Prophet. "I'm sorry, Harry I know how much you dislike the titles that the Prophet sees fit to heap on you."
"It's not your fault, Hermione. I just wish that for once I could simply be normal Harry Potter and not have to deal with the Wizard-Who-Conquered, The-Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One and all that rubbish. I never wanted any of the fame. In fact, I hate it." His voice was shaking with anger. Hermione gently placed a hand on his shoulders then pulled him for a hug.
"I know, Harry. It isn't fair how they treat you. But you did do things that the rest of the witches and wizards can only dream about. And as much as you hate the fame, it's better for them to remember Voldemort and his atrocities than to simply forget."
"I could never have done it without you or Ron for that matter. With the two of you alongside me, Voldemort never stood a chance." Hearing the door open, the pair turned to see Ron Weasley's tall lanky form striding towards them.
"Ahh, there you two are. Mum wants to get a picture of all the Weasleys. And you two, in her opinion, are just non-redheaded ones." Seeing their close proximity he asked, "What are you two so intently talking about this time?"
"Just you." Hermione teased.
"Only good things I hope?"
"Of course, what else would there be?" Harry added on to Hermione's teasing. Ron just smiled in response. Hearing a noise Harry glanced up to see that the manor's porch light had clicked on since the sun had now set. Glancing down the porch's steps, Harry saw a pale skinned man dressed in black begin to ascend the stairs. Reaching the top of the stairs, the man paused to address the trio. Harry took a moment to study the man. He had cropped short hair that was a white blonde hue. Harry noted that the man's all black ensemble, a simple yet elegant suit, appeared to be in pristine condition as if it had never been worn before. The man carried himself with an almost regal bearing. At the edges of the sleeves and the man's collar, Harry could see multiple tattoos covering the man's exposed skin, including several on the man's hands.
"I'm going to assume that you young folks are here for the graduation ceremony. I am in the proper place, am I not?" The man in black inquired.
"Why, yes this would be the place. The ceremony itself has been over for several hours now, though the reception is still going strong." Harry replied.
"If I may inquire as to what your names are, good sirs and madam?" Harry introduced Ron and Hermione and finished by introducing himself as Harry Potter. The man's eyes gave a brief flash of recognition when Harry stated his name but didn't react otherwise. Finishing the introductions Harry asked the man his name in return.
"My name is Ambros Aksel, at your service," The man now identified as Ambros gave a short flourished bow as he introduced himself. When he stood straight again, Harry noticed from Ambros' smile that his teeth were pure white.
"So you're the man that Rod mentioned who'll be involved in our physical training." Ambros gave a nod in a response.
"I'll be assisting Rod with multiple disciplines of the martial arts that we'll be giving you a brief overview of. We'll find which one plays to your personal style the best and begin more in-depth individual training with me. Not to be rude, but I must be get inside quickly." Ambros bid a quick goodbye and headed on inside the manner. Harry noted that his footfalls seemed to be completely silent.
"Seems to be an interesting chap at least from his appearance and manner, eh Harry?" Ron asked.
"I think he'll be an interesting instructor for sure. Though I am curious as to where he's from. I've not ever seen a man who looks quite like him. What's your impression of him, Hermione?" Harry could tell that she was deep in thought, as she was biting down on her bottom lip as she was apt to do in the throes of thought. Her eyes suddenly brightened as it seemed she'd come to a conclusion.
"This is just pure speculation, but from what I know and have read in books, the man has all the appearances of a vampire. That would explain why he didn't show up until sunset. It would also explain his pale skin and why he seemed to carry himself… well for lack of a better word, perfectly." Harry nodded in agreement with Hermione, while Ron let out a sound of disbelief.
"A vampire?! We're going to be taught by a vampire? They're supposed to be dark creatures of the night, why would he want anything to do with Aurors? Though Rod must know and he seemed to be a decent enough chap. And Remus was a werewolf and he was one of the most decent people I've ever known." Stopping to think for a second, he made an addition to his statement. "Cool. We're going to be trained by a vampire." Shaking their heads at their friend, Hermione and Harry began to discuss the ramifications that the man called Ambros Aksel was a vampire.
"Come on, we've got to get in there before too long or Mum will kill us all," Ron interrupted his friends chatter. The trio of friends stepped back into the old Manor. Harry couldn't help but thinking that he had the best two friends in the world and that he never want to change that. Smiling inwardly, he and the others headed back in to the celebration.
Notes
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own a damn thing.
A/N This story has been in working stages for quite awhile. I'm finally getting off my ass and putting the idea down in print, well kinda. This prologue started off as an outline that I fleshed into this due to the fact that I thought it would help ease readers into this future world of Harry Potter that I've been crafting for about six months now. Please feel free to leave a review and any constructive criticism will be appreciated. I have written rough drafts of the next few chapters that I need to sit down and polish up before even thinking about posting.
A/N II - Many of the original character names or the additions to canon character names bear meaning significant to their character. I will share the meaning of those names here when ever said character is introduced. Other characters names don't have specific meanings, but are created to fall within the existing families in Harry Potter.
Orenda's name is an Iroquois name meaning magic power
Will (Willard) Granger's name is an English name meaning strong-willed
Anna (Annabelle) Granger's name is a Scottish name meaning lovable
Merry Dursley's name is an English name meaning forgiveness, mercy
Tia (Tiamat) Weasley's name is a Babylonian name for a Sea Serpent Goddess (called the Mother of Life)
Mick Bones is Susan Bones' father (brother to the deceased Amelia Bones).
Argyle McKinnon is a surving member of the family that Voldemort slaughtered
Thelma Owain & Patricia O'Reilly are generic names and most likely won't be seen again (who knows)
Raynard Williamson first name is an English name meaning wise and strong. Williamson was the first Auror to see Voldemort just before he fled the Ministry. (he was never given a first name in canon)
Gawain Robards was Head Auror during Rufus Scrimgeour's time as Minister. He is mentioned during HBP when Scrimgeour is trying to convince Harry to become the ministry's poster boy.
Ambros Aksel's first name is German name meaning immortal. His last name, also German, means father of peace.
The song Harry hears is Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix